


Talk to the Mirror

by OnceYoungHearts



Category: Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Online Dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 16:56:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20138842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnceYoungHearts/pseuds/OnceYoungHearts
Summary: Ryan takes a chance with online dating. Maybe it won't be as horrible as he expected.





	Talk to the Mirror

Ryan sat at the table, nervously drumming his fingers on his knees. He'd already been waiting for twenty minutes, but it had been his own fault for being so damn early. The guy wasn't even late yet, but he'd managed to work his nerves into a frenzy imagining all the horrible scenarios that could play out. 

He pulled out his phone for the third time that minute, checking once again that he had the right time, date, and location. Once he had sated that worry, he pulled the guy's profile back up and took some deep breaths while scrolling through his pictures. 

He'd been so hesitant to try dating through an app, but his best friend Spencer had convinced him. Trying to meet guys the old fashioned way was getting him no where. Finding guys he liked was hard enough, but most of the time when he told them he was asexual they lost interest real quick. At least this way it was one of the first things they saw on his profile. 

When he saw Brendon's profile, he almost rejected it on impulse. The guy was way too hot to be real. Ryan was convinced it had to be someone using pictures from google, or maybe their straight brother's pictures. But he took the chance and messaged him anyway. They'd talked for a bit, and Ryan had sent a selfie of himself by his pool complaining about the temperature. Brendon had sent back a selfie in return, and the weather certainly looked like it had been taken on that day. 

So they'd agreed to go on a date. Ryan was waiting to meet some stranger from the internet, and all of his childhood stranger danger lessons were flooding back in a big way. If the guy was creepy, or looked completely different to his pictures, Ryan could just leave. He told himself repeatedly that no matter how badly he wanted a boyfriend, he was not going to ignore red flags and risk getting murdered. He wasn't stupid.

The door opened, and this time when he looked to it hopefully, the man coming through was actually the one from the pictures. Ryan quickly locked his phone, realizing he still had the profile open on the screen, as his eyes locked with Brendon's across the coffee shop. Brendon's face immediately lit up in a warm smile, and Ryan's stomach did a little flip at the sight.

Brendon snaked his way between tables, stopping in front of the empty seat across from Ryan. "Hey." He said softly. He noted the cold coffee sitting in front of Ryan that had barely been touched. "You want another one?"

Ryan took a second to snap out of his fixation on the guy's face, and realized what had been asked. "Oh, yeah, sure." He smiled. "Hey." 

Brendon went to the front counter and ordered coffee for each of them as Ryan pushed his old one off to the side and tried to wrap his mind around seeing Brendon in real life. They'd only started talking a week ago, but the disconnect between looking at the same eight pictures of him over and over, and seeing him in real life from different angles was more jarring than he'd expected. 

Brendon did indeed look just like his profile, if not better. It seemed photoshop had not been needed to assist him in being stunning. While Ryan was slightly relieved to have not been catfished, he now felt pathetically out of his league. And not that leagues are even a thing Ryan believed in, but Brendon literally took his breath away. In fact, he needed to focus on his breaths for a little bit because his vision was starting to darken around the edges. 

Brendon came back balancing another black coffee for Ryan and something that looked like it would induce a sugar coma for himself. "What on earth is that?" Ryan asked before he could stop himself. 

"White chocolate mocha with extra espresso and whip cream." Brendon started eating the whip cream with a spoon and Ryan stared in amazement. "So. How's your day been?" Brendon asked after a moment.

"Uhh not bad." Ryan sipped his coffee and studied the pattern on Brendon's shirt. "I uhh, feel a need to admit that this is my first date through an app. I'm not really sure what to do here." 

Brendon laughed gently. "That's okay. I haven't been on many, but we kind of just do whatever we want. If you decided on a whim that you're really craving pretzels, we go get pretzels. If I mention that the fair's in town and that sparks your interest, we can go there. Essentially just like any other date you've been on." 

Ryan nodded slowly. "I guess that sounds alright." They smiled at each other and took sips of their drinks. "Is the fair actually in town?" 

Brendon's eyes seemed to sparkle. "It is."

\---------

"How did you do that? These games are rigged!" Ryan yelled as the grumpy game attendant passed Brendon the largest stuffed unicorn that had been hanging on the wall. Brendon shrugged.

"Played some baseball when I was a kid until I injured my shoulder. Could have gone pro." He winked and passed the toy to Ryan who hugged it to his chest and blushed a little. Every kid who walked passed them looked infinitely jealous, and that made him a little smug. "Do you want to go on the ferris wheel?"

Ryan hesitated, craning his neck to look up at the giant structure. "Are you afraid of heights?" Brendon asked.

"No, nothing like that. I love heights. It's more the speed ferris wheels turn at, and that little drop-y feeling you get when it goes over the top." Ryan grimaced as he imagined the feeling.

"We don't have to-" Brendon began before Ryan stopped him with a shake of his head.

"Let's do it." They started walking towards the gate to the ferris wheel, but it seemed the operator was getting ready to shut it down. Ryan hadn't realized how late it was, but the sun had long since set and most of the people had left. 

Brendon grabbed his hand and broke into a run, yelling for the guy to please let them get on. He seemed a little annoyed, but Brendon pouted at him and agreed. The cars were the circular type that could fit up to four people. Ryan got in first, sliding the stuffed unicorn on the seat next to him. He'd expected Brendon to sit across from him, but instead he squished in on the same side, their thighs pressed tightly together. The car tilted with the offset weight, but the operator didn't seem worried, so Ryan tried to tell himself the chances of it breaking and them falling to their deaths was minimal. 

Since there was no one else on the ride, the guy started it moving, and they quickly got up to speed, nearing the pinnacle of the structure. Ryan's hands were grasping each other tightly in his lap as he stared out of the car at the amazing view. The city below them shone with lights, and the vehicles and people he could see on the ground looked like little miniatures more than real things. 

When they crested the top and started to descend the other side, he inhaled sharply at the dropping sensation in his stomach that felt like falling. Brendon reached over, gently untangling Ryan's hands before lacing the fingers of one with his own. Ryan squeezed it gratefully and turned to smile at Brendon. The wind was whipping his hair all to one side, and he looked a little ridiculous. Ryan's stomach clenched for an entirely different reason as they passed the bottom and started to go back up again. 

Brendon lifted his free hand to gently cup Ryan's cheek. Ryan laughed a tiny laugh that was mostly air and shock as Brendon leaned closer and their lips touched. When they pulled back they were both grinning, and this time Ryan was the one to lean back in and kiss him. 

Maybe online dating hadn't been the worst idea Spencer ever had.


End file.
